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Phyllis Calvert

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Phyllis Calvert
Calvert in 1974
Born
Phyllis Hannah Bickle

(1915-02-18)18 February 1915
Chelsea, London, England
Died8 October 2002(2002-10-08) (aged 87)
Cheam, London, England
Alma materRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama
Years active1927–2000
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1941; died 1957)​
Children2[1]

Phyllis Hannah Murray-Hill (née Bickle; 18 February 1915 – 8 October 2002), known professionally as Phyllis Calvert, was an English film, stage and television actress.[2] She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s such as The Man in Grey (1943) and was one of the most popular movie stars in Britain in the 1940s.[3] She continued her acting career for another 50 years.[4]

In the words of an article by Michael Brooke for the BFI's Screenonline website: "Most of the time she drew what looked like the short straw, playing the 'good girl' in films that revelled in the exploits of her wicked opposite number, and it says much for her talent and charisma that she was able to hold attention in what must have seemed thankless parts – she herself acknowledged that 'I do think it is much more difficult to establish a really charming, nice person than a wicked one – and make it real'."[3]

Biography

[edit]

Calvert was born in Chelsea, London, and trained at the Margaret Morris School of Dancing. She began performing from the age of ten, appearing with Ellen Terry in Crossings.[5] She gained her first film role at the age of 12, in The Arcadians (1927), also known as The Land of Heart's Desire.[6]

Calvert performed in repertory theatre in Malvern and Coventry. She made her London stage debut in A Woman's Privilege in 1939.[7] Her early films include Two Days to Live (1939).[8]

Gainsborough Pictures

[edit]

Calvert was spotted in a play Punch without Judy, and was signed to a contract by Gainsborough Pictures which gave her the lead in They Came by Night (1940), opposite Will Fyffe.[9] She was George Formby's love interest in Let George Do It! (1940) and had a support part in Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt (1940), starring Arthur Askey.[10][11]

Calvert was in a war movie, Neutral Port (1940), then had a good role as Michael Redgrave's love interest in Kipps (1941), directed by Carol Reed.[12][13] After a detective film Inspector Hornleigh Goes To It (1941) she had the co-lead in Uncensored (1942), a war movie with Eric Portman.[14][15] Reed used her again in The Young Mr. Pitt (1942), playing Eleanor Eden.[16]

In 1942, she had the lead role as Patricia Graham in the West End production of Terence Rattigan's play Flare Path.[7][5]

Stardom

[edit]

Calvert was by now well established in British films. She did not become a star, however, until given one of the four leading roles in the Gainsborough melodrama The Man in Grey (1943).[17] The movie was a huge success, making her and her three co-stars – Stewart Granger, James Mason and Margaret Lockwood – genuine box office stars in Britain.[18]

Calvert followed it with Fanny by Gaslight (1944), co-starring Granger and Mason, which was another big hit.[19] Also popular was Two Thousand Women (1944), made by Launder and Gilliat, about British women interned in occupied France.[20] It co-starred Patricia Roc, who appeared with Calvert and Granger in Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945), another Gainsborough melodrama, and another hit.[19] Calvert's successful run at the box office continued when she and Mason were reunited in They Were Sisters (1945), a more contemporary-set Gainsborough melodrama.[21] Exhibitors voted her the fifth-most popular star of 1945 in Britain.[22]

She was one of Stewart Granger's loves in The Magic Bow (1946) and had the female lead in a drama about colonialism in Africa Men of Two Worlds (1946), made a few years before being released.[23] It was a success, though not profitable because of its high cost.[24] The Root of All Evil (1947) was one of the last of the Gainsborough melodramas.[25] She was voted the sixth most popular British star at the box office in 1946.[26]

Hollywood

[edit]

Calvert's success had been noticed in the US, although her films had not been as popular there. Universal-International signed her to star in Time Out of Mind (1947), which was a box office disappointment.[27][28][29] She received several offers from studios and eventually decided to sign a six-picture deal with Paramount.[30][31]

She returned to Britain to make Broken Journey (1948) playing a role written especially for her, but the film failed at the box-office.[32]

Calvert went to Hollywood to make two films, both for Paramount: My Own True Love (1949), with Melvyn Douglas, and Appointment with Danger (1951 but made two years earlier) with Alan Ladd, in which she played a nun.[33][17] She did Peter Pan on stage in Britain.[34]

Producer

[edit]

Back in Britain she made two films with director Ladislao Vajda, neither particularly successful: Golden Madonna (1950), shot in Italy, and The Woman with No Name (1950).[4] She invested her own money in the latter.[35] She wanted to produce other films: Eastward Ho, about an Englishwoman who romances a cowboy, and Equilibrium, about a trapeze artist, as well as star in a third film for Paramount but none of these were made.[36][37]

Calvert was in a thriller Mr. Denning Drives North (1951) with John Mills and a BBC TV production The Holly and the Ivy (1951).[38][39] She had her first big hit in a while, Mandy (1952).[3]

Calvert was a wife in The Net (1953), then was off screen for a while.[4] She acted on stage in It's Never Too Late (1956), then appeared in the film version.[40] She followed it with Child in the House (1956).[41]

On TV she was in Strindberg's The Father for ITV's Television Playhouse, and played the lead in Tatiana, the Czar's Daughter.[4] She also played Mrs March in a six-part BBC adaptation of Little Women.[42]

Calvert had a support part in the Hollywood-financed Indiscreet (1958), then played a concerned mother in The Young and the Guilty (1958) and a wacky spinster in A Lady Mislaid (1959).[43][4][44] On TV she was in "The Break" for Armchair Theatre (1959) and played Katharine O'Shea in Parnell for Play of the Week (1959), then reprised her role as Mrs March for the BBC in Good Wives (1959).[4] She was Constance Wilde in Oscar Wilde (1960) with Robert Morley and A Righteous Woman on Play of the Week (1962).[4]

The only time people recall Calvert risking loss of sympathy for an apparent lapse of taste, grace or charm was during her stage career at the Lyric in 1963, and at the Duke of York's in 1964. In the first, as the wife in Ronald Duncan's Ménage à Trois, she condoned his misconduct – as long as it took place off the premises, herself departing as a lesbian with his mistress as the curtain fell. Then, as the cold, insensitive stepmother in James Saunders's A Scent Of Flowers, she left no trace of "the rose that sings". Phyllis Calvert

Later career

[edit]

In all, Calvert acted in over 40 films, her later work including The Battle of the Villa Fiorita (1965), Twisted Nerve (1968), Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) and The Walking Stick (1970).[4]

From 1970 to 1972, she starred in her own TV series, Kate, playing the part of an agony aunt with problems of her own.[citation needed]

She made TV appearances in programmes such as Crown Court, Ladykillers, Tales of the Unexpected, Boon, After Henry, Victoria Wood and Limelight: The Film Years – The Lime Grove Story.[45][46] She also played D.I. Barnaby's Aunt Alice (Alice Bly) in a Midsomer Murders episode "Blue Herrings" in 2000.[47][48] She was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1972 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.[citation needed]

Personal life

[edit]

She was married to the actor and antiquarian bookseller Peter Murray-Hill[5] until his sudden death in 1957.[49] The couple had two children, Ann Murray-Hill (born 1943) and Piers Murray-Hill (born 1954). Calvert never remarried. She died in her sleep in London in 2002 from natural causes,[49] aged 87.[2]

Partial filmography

[edit]

Box office ranking

[edit]

For a number of years, British film exhibitors voted her among the top ten British stars at the box office via an annual poll in the Motion Picture Herald.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Lewis, Paul (12 October 2002). "Phyllis Calvert, 87, Virtuous Heroine of Wartime Melodramas". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b III, Harris M. Lentz (9 April 2003). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2002: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. ISBN 9780786452071 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c Brooke, Michael (2003–14). "BFI Screenonline: Calvert, Phyllis (1915–2002) Biography". BFI Screenonline.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Phyllis Calvert". BFI. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Eric Shorter (9 October 2002). "Obituary: Phyllis Calvert". The Guardian.
  6. ^ "PHYLLIS CALVERT Britain's Wartime Star". The Australasian. Vol. CLX, no. 5, 065. Victoria, Australia. 26 January 1946. p. 13. Retrieved 29 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ a b "Phyllis Calvert". Telegraph.co.uk. 9 October 2002.
  8. ^ "Phyllis Calvert Featured in Picture". Glen Innes Examiner. New South Wales, Australia. 17 March 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 29 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Phyllis Calvert". Morwell Advertiser. No. 2850. Victoria, Australia. 3 July 1941. p. 4 (morning.). Retrieved 29 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Let George Do It (1940) – Marcel Varnel – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  11. ^ "Charley's (Big-hearted) Aunt (1940)". BFI. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Neutral Port (1941) – Marcel Varnel – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  13. ^ "Kipps (1941) – Carol Reed – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  14. ^ "Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It (1941)". BFI. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Uncensored (1942) – Anthony Asquith – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  16. ^ "The Young Mr. Pitt (1942)". BFI. Archived from the original on 3 May 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Phyllis Calvert – Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie.
  18. ^ "The Man in Grey (1943) – Leslie Arliss – Review". AllMovie.
  19. ^ a b Dyhouse, Carol (9 February 2017). Heartthrobs: A History of Women and Desire. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191078392 – via Google Books.
  20. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Two Thousand Women (1944)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  21. ^ "BFI Screenonline: They Were Sisters (1945)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  22. ^ "CROSBY and HOPE try their luck in Alaska". The Mercury. Vol. CLXIII, no. 23, 475. Tasmania, Australia. 2 March 1946. p. 3 (The Mercury Magazine). Retrieved 9 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Magic Bow, The (1946)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  24. ^ "MEN OF TWO WORLDS – colonialfilm". www.colonialfilm.org.uk.
  25. ^ Harper, Sue (14 September 2000). Women in British Cinema: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780826447333 – via Google Books.
  26. ^ "FILM WORLD". The West Australian. Vol. 63, no. 18, 916. Western Australia. 28 February 1947. p. 20 (SECOND EDITION.). Retrieved 9 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  27. ^ "PHYLLIS CALVERT Makes Her Hollywood Delrit". The Mercury. Vol. CLXVI, no. 23, 915. Tasmania, Australia. 2 August 1947. p. 3 (The Mercury Magazine). Retrieved 29 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  28. ^ "FILMS AND FILM STARS". The Examiner. Vol. CVI, no. 121. Tasmania, Australia. 2 August 1947. p. 1 (WEEK-END MAGAZINE SECTION). Retrieved 29 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  29. ^ "Hollywood can't get along without British stars". The World's News. No. 23[?]. New South Wales, Australia. 4 October 1947. p. 17. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  30. ^ "PARAMOUNT SIGNS PHYLLIS CALVERT: British Actress to Be Seen in Six Films, With 'Make You a Fine Wife' as First Waugh to Adapt His Book of Local Origin". The New York Times. 13 December 1946. p. 29.
  31. ^ GRADY JOHNSON. (7 September 1947). "PHYLLIS CALVERT – RED-HEAD WITHOUT TEMPER". The New York Times. p. X3.
  32. ^ Spicer, Andrew (5 September 2006). Sydney Box. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719059995. Retrieved 16 March 2023 – via Google Books.
  33. ^ "My Own True Love (1948) – Compton Bennett – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  34. ^ "Phyllis Calvert Off To London for New Stage Job". The Washington Post. 26 October 1947. p. L2.
  35. ^ "Phyllis Calvert talks of home and career". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 17, no. 50. 20 May 1950. p. 52. Retrieved 29 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  36. ^ Strong, Edwin J. (18 September 1949). "PHYLLIS CALVERT RETAINS 'INTERNATIONAL' RATING". Los Angeles Times. p. D1.
  37. ^ Scheuer, Philip K. (30 August 1949). "Phyllis Calvert Maps International Features; Italian Woos Medea". Los Angeles Times. p. A7.
  38. ^ "Mr. Denning Drives North (1951) – Anthony Kimmins – Cast and Crew". AllMovie.
  39. ^ "The Holly and the Ivy (1951)". BFI. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  40. ^ S. W. (25 September 1955). "OBSERVATIONS ON THE BRITISH SCREEN SCENE". The New York Times. ProQuest 113205684.
  41. ^ "Phyllis Calvert – Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
  42. ^ "Little Women Part 6 (1958)". BFI. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  43. ^ "Indiscreet (1958) – Stanley Donen – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  44. ^ "A Lady Mislaid – review – cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online". Radio Times.
  45. ^ TV.com. "Phyllis Calvert". TV.com.
  46. ^ "Limelight – The Film Years (1991)". BFI. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  47. ^ "Blue Herring (2000)". BFI. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  48. ^ "Midsomer Murders: Blue Herrings (2000) – Peter Smith – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  49. ^ a b "BBC NEWS – Entertainment – Actress Phyllis Calvert dies". bbc.co.uk. 9 October 2002.
  50. ^ "CROSBY and HOPE try their luck in Alaska". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 2 March 1946. p. 3 Supplement: The Mercury Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  51. ^ "FILM WORLD". The West Australian (SECOND ed.). Perth. 28 February 1947. p. 20. Retrieved 27 April 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
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